Selling to South Korea

Selling to South Korea

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
South Korea is a top export market for a number of Western state products, but there is great potential to expand the volume of those products and make way for new ones given the current tastes and trends of the Korean consumer:

 A recently completed trade mission to South Korea reinforces the importance of selling to a market that has more than 50 million consumers, many of whom crave the types of products Western states can provide. Oregon Department of Agriculture trade manager Erick Garman was part of the delegation that traveled to Korea.

 "The Korean market is important. In fact, a lot of the products we saw were products that were in high demand and there are opportunities for additional products to be sold there."  

Garman toured several retail stores in Seoul to see what's hot among the products. Among other things, blueberries are already in the market, and there is potential for other fruits and nuts: "One of the major factors for a high demand for fruit and nuts is the fact that Koreans are very health conscious and they tend to look for foods and import foods that are healthy."

 Maybe the most promising sector in Korea for Western state agricultural products  include wine and beer. Several wines are now being sold at a premium price, but as the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement phases out high tariffs, wines may become more cost competitive. Also, craft beers are big in Korea, and Western states  can take advantage of the demand for imported craft brews.

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